


Trials and Tribulations

by storyhaus



Category: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-08
Updated: 2018-01-08
Packaged: 2019-03-02 08:41:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13314570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/storyhaus/pseuds/storyhaus
Summary: When Nick doesn't show up for work Russell and Sara go to his house and what they find makes them fear for his safety.





	Trials and Tribulations

Trials and Tribulations  
When Nick doesn't show up for work Russell and Sara go to his house and what they find there makes them fear for his safety.

"Nick not here?" Russell asked entering the breakroom.  
"Haven't seen him." Finn replied pouring a mug of coffee.  
"I just came from the lockerroom, he wasn't there." Morgan answered.  
"I was in early to help with the DNA backlog so I never saw him." Greg shook his head.  
"He's not answering his cell." Sara held her's up.  
"Okay, Morgan, Greg, a double homicide on Freemont near the Orpheus, Finn a single on Grant. Sara and I will head to Nick's."  
"Let us know huh?" Greg asked and Sara nodded to him as she followed Russell out.

"His department phone GPS says he's at home." Sara said as Russell drove.  
"Let's just hope he overslept or isn't feeling well." Russell glanced at her.  
Sara opened her mouth to reply then closed it.  
"I've seen his file." Russell reminded.  
"Right." She sighed and tried his cell again .  
Stalked. Pushed out a second story window. Shot. Blown up. He does seem to attract trouble.  
Russell hoped he was okay, he genuinely liked the Texan.  
"Take a left here." Sara pointed and hung up her phone, they drove Rose Avenue and soon reached Nick's house.  
"Truck's here." Russell stated the obvious as they got out of their own truck.  
"Seems okay." She replied as they walked to the gate surrounding the front yard.  
Russell ushered her through and followed to the porch.  
"Nick? You here?" Sara called and knocked.  
There was no sound from inside so she used her key.  
"Hope you're indecent!" She joked and pushed the door open then pulled her gun seeing the livingroom torn up.  
"Hey Jim, we're at Nick's, you need to get a unit over here," Russell said into his phone as he held Sara back, "his place is a mess. Okay." He hung up. "He'll be here in five."  
"There's blood...he could be hurt."   
"I know but we wait for Brass just in case."

Brass and a squad car with Officer Mitchell pulled up three minutes later.  
"Stay here." Brass ordered and led Mitch inside.  
The two officers checked the entire house then returned to the porch.  
"No one is here." He told them.  
"I'll get my kit." Russell said and headed to his truck as Sara entered the house to make initial observations.  
Russell was only partly relieved Nick wasn't there hurt, but there was a lot of blood which Russell worried meant he was injured or dead, pushing that from his mind he needed to let the evidence talk to him.  
Brass canvassed the neighborhood for clues.  
What the hell happened here Nicky? Where are you? Are you alright? Call me!  
Sara and Russell worked silently and diligently over the next three hours.  
Russell had texted Greg, Morgan and Finn with what they'd found. He told them to continue with their cases and would meet up at the lab later.  
"No one gets in this house." Brass ordered a pair of officers when they arrived.  
He followed Sara and Russell back to the lab.

Greg and Morgan dropped their evidence off and looked for Russell and Sara.  
"Two bodies burned up. No I.D., jewelry, nothing to identify them." Greg reported. "What do you have on Nick?"  
"Two distinct blood pools. DNA is being run." Russell answered.  
"Neighbors see anything?" Morgan asked.  
"A couple down the street said they saw Nick outside with another man having a quiet but heated conversation. It only lasted a few minutes before they went back inside." Brass replied.  
"One crispy critter, no I.D." Finn said joining them, "Found a Lugar casing near-by."  
"Don't see that often, sounds like a hit." Brass offered.  
"Wasn't an execution though." Finn answered.  
"Three burned bodies? Coincidence?" Russell looked at them.  
"Let's see if our guys were shot with a Lugar." Morgan motioned Greg out.  
"Compare notes." Russell told Finn who nodded and followed them out. He turned to Sara and Brass, "Working theory?"  
"Nick met with somebody, they argued then went inside. We found two blood pools so that could mean Nick and whoever was there were shot or a somebody or two showed up later and Nick shot them or was shot." Sara shook her head, "Until we get DNA back we don't know who's blood it is."  
"I gave the prints we found and Nick's cell to Hodges, maybe we'll get something from them." Russell said.  
"We do know one thing...NIcky's in trouble." Brass looked at them soberly.  
*****************************************************************************  
"I found bullets in both your victims. This one was shot in the chest, close range." Doc Robbins pointed to him, "this other fella is more interesting, he also has four broken ribs. It was prior to being set on fire."  
"Why break his ribs then shoot him?" Morgan frowned.  
"That's for you to figure out." Robbins smiled.  
"Let's run the bullets." Greg picked up the small glass jars and led her out.

Finn used a program to reconstruct her victims face then ran it through various databases.  
She'd been at it for almost two hours when Greg and Morgan showed up.  
"Looks like our cases are related." Morgan handed her their report.  
Finn read over it and nodded.  
"You got a match." Greg pointed out.  
"That's interesting. Let's run your vics too." Finn suggested and they set about doing so.  
***************************************************************************  
Three hours later everyone converged in the layout room where Russell was.  
"My vic who was shot with the Lugar was Federal Agent Thomas Reed." Finn reported.  
"A Fed? Great." Sara rolled her eyes.  
"It gets better." Morgan smiled holding out her report which Russell took, "Our two victims were drug henchmen, they got 'rid' of problems. One was shot with a Sig-Saur." She sumed up for them.  
"Fed weapon." Russell nodded thoughtfully.  
"The other guy was shot with a Lugar." Greg added, "He also had several broken ribs."  
"We ran them through the databases, they're from Texas, Ricardo Alvarez and Julio Sanchez." Morgan said and turned to Greg.  
"So I ran with a hunch." Greg handed his folder over.  
"All three were at Nick's?" Russell read the DNA comparisons  
"Yeah, according to the DNA Henry found on what you collected at Nick's. There's also one other DNA contributor besides Nick." Greg pointed it out to him.  
"Thirteen allelials in common...with Nick?" Russell looked at him surprised.  
"The man the neighbor saw Nick arguing with was his brother?" Sara asked.  
"Boss..."  
They turned to Hodges who was at the door, " I got Nick's cell to talk to me."  
They all followed to the lab where he held court.  
"The phone was pretty damaged, the circuit board too but I did get the last number called."  
"Not local." Sara read the screen.  
"Check the area code." Russell ordered and Greg pulled it up.  
"Dallas?" Morgan frowned.  
"Let's check it." Brass called the number then hung up shaking his head, "Judge Stokes chamber." "He didn't bother to leave a message as it was the middle of the night in Texas and no one would be there to answer.  
"Alright. Let's figure this out." Russell motioned.  
"Nick meets with his brother and at least one Federal Agent." Sara started the scenario off.  
"Our drug thugs show up and a gunfight ensues." Finn nods.  
"The Fed is shot by a drug thug, who gets a shot of his own off? and kills one of them. So who killed the second drug thug with his own gun? The guys ribs were broken too." Greg reminded.  
"Nick. He played football right? The Fed and the drug thug shoot each other, that leaves one thug...Nick tackles him breaking his ribs, they fight over the gun and it goes off killing the thug." Russell deduced.  
"We still have three burned bodies, Nicky wouldn't have done that." Brass replied.  
"Drug thug clean up team?" Finn suggested.  
"If that's how it went down why hasn't Nick called?" Sara worried.  
"Does 'gumdrops' mean anything to you? I got that one word text from an unknown number. I figured it was just a wrong number." Russell held his phone out to show them.  
"Pioche!" Sara and Greg said.  
"The case with the murdered family up north?" Brass recalled the case vaguely.  
"If Nick sent it on the run why go there?" Morgan asked.  
"A safe place. The drug thugs presumably wouldn't know about it." Greg answered.  
"Hey...check this out..." Hodges pointed to the computer.  
"Drug cartel set to go on trial." Russell read the newpaper headline Hodges had found from the Dallas-Fort Worth News website.  
"Nicky's father is a state court judge." Brass informed him.  
"Probably presiding over this trial then. The Fed and Nick's brother were likely here to put him in a safe house til the trial was over." Finn sighed.  
"No one expected the drug thugs to show up too." Greg added.  
"Sara, Jim and I are going up to Pioche. If Nick sent me this message he had to know I'd have no idea what it meant so he was buying time to get to safety...him and his brother probably. You three keep digging, we still have someone who torched those bodies." Russell ordered and led them out.  
*******************************************************************************  
"So tell me about the case up here." Russell requested as they drove.  
"Six years ago Grissom sends me to a house up here to help Nick. Three blood pools, no bodies. The house belonged to the McBride family, mom,dad and two kids. Turns out the parents were growing marijuana in the basement, the son Jeremy was selling his term paper writing services to four other boys, he invited them over to buy pot...the only problem was that the parents were supposed to be at a concert but the girl, Cassie was sick so they didn't go. Nick believed Cassie was alive since there was only three blood pools none belonging to her. We had the boys brought in for questioning. They used the gun on Jeremy, Jude and Nina but ran out of bullets for Cassie so they drugged her with the cold medicine, dumped the three bodies in Lake Mead together, cut Cassie's throat and tossed her over the side to drown.  
"We found the three bodies but not Cassie so Nick went back with the local LEO's...he found her washed up across the lake, injured but still alive. She had left us a trail of gum...'gumdrops'. Greg found one outside of the house, he and I found one on the boat they used and I found another one on the docks...Cassie had the last piece with her still." Sara finished.  
"So Nicky was right." Brass nodded.  
"Yeah. When I realized he thought she was still alive, I told him that's not usually the case. He told me he was rescued." She looked in the rearview mirror at Brass who nodded and smiled.  
"The Gordon case?" Russell asked.  
"Yeah, seven years ago Nick was working swing shift with Warrick, Catherine was their supervisor, thanks to Ecklie, Nick was on a trash run...he was kidnapped from the scene. The bastard buried him alive." Brass told him.  
"I read the file, that Gordon wanted revenge against CSI for his daughter going to prison as accessory to murder." Russell nodded.  
"We almost didn't make it in time." Sara added quietly.  
Russell had been chilled when he read that case file, they had come very close to losing Nick.  
********************************************************************************  
They were still an hour out of Pioche when Russell got a text.  
"Another body was found, Federal Agent Juan Morales." He read.  
"So two fed's and Nick's brother come to Vegas, drug thugs show up, he kills one agent who kills a thug, Nick takes the other thug out and they go on the run...with Morales or not?" Sara asked.  
"He had to be with them at least part way. His job was to protect them." Brass said as Russell got another text from Greg.  
"They found blood in the car...it matches Nick's blood type."  
"So either Nick or his brother are injured." Sara said worriedly and stepped on the gas pedal.  
"With drug thugs after them." Brass added.  
********************************************************************************  
"Don't lose them, they'll take us right to Stokes' sons."  
The driver nodded and followed the taillights of the Denali ahead.  
He smiled knowing they had no idea they were being tailed as he'd killed the lights once they left the Vegas strip.  
********************************************************************************  
"Pioche, five miles." Russell raed the sign as they passed it.  
"Hang on Nicky." Brass uttered.  
Sara drove past the Sheriff's office and went straight to the McBride house.  
They killed the lights and quietly got out.  
"There's a truck in the garage." Russell said looking in the window. "Nick must have gotten the key."  
"More like the door was unlocked. It's a small town D.B." Brass replied leading them to the door, he tried it but it was locked.  
Sara picked the lock and Brass pulled his weapon just to be safe, she pulled her own weapon and followed him inside, Russell brought up the rear and closed the door softly.  
Brass held up his hand and they heard footfall upstairs.  
"Nicky? It's Brass." He called out.  
They heard the footsteps stop.  
Brass looked at the text he received and chuckled.  
"Yeah Nicky, grand slam. I also remember Conrad's face when you hit it."  
They heard a door squeak open and looked up the stairs.  
All were relieved when Nick appeared.  
"You alright?" Sara called and started up the steps.  
"Yeah, my brother got winged." Nick nodded then whipped his gun up, "DOWN!"  
Russell yanked Sara off the steps and to the floor, Brass dove to the other side as automatic weapons fire ripped through the front of the house riddling the stairs with bullets.  
No one could return fire for fear of being shot.  
When the gunfire ceased a lone shot rang out and the silhoutted figure on the porch fell.  
Sara looked up at Nick and he mimicked walking up steps and pointed to her left.  
With a nod she motioned Brass over to them and he darted across the front of the steps keeping low.  
"There's a back staircase." She whispered and they headed up to Nick just as more automatic gun fire lit up the front of the house.  
"It's good to see you Nicky." Brass squeezed his arm and Sara hugged him.  
"You too." He nodded back and led them to the master bedroom.  
Russell saw bloody bandages in a trash can then the man sitting up on the bed  
"I'm D.B. Russell, Nick's boss." He introduced himself to the injured man.  
"Billy Stokes." He nodded, "I'd offer my hand but..."  
Russell nodded back, he didn't need to be a CSI to see the resemblence between the men. He heard the stronger southern drawl of their shared Texas accent. Billy was clearly the older of the two if the touches of gray in his dark hair were any indication. He also had 20 to 30 pounds on Nick and an inch or so in height.  
"Night vision?" Brass picked up the goggles from the bed.  
"Found 'em in Jeremy's room, I've been keeping an eye out since it got dark." Nick nodded.  
"How'd we sneak up on you?" Russell frowned.  
"I made him sleep for an hour." Billy sighed.  
"I'm sorry Nick, I should have realized we were being followed." Sara apologized.  
Before Nick could answer they heard the door downstairs crash against the wall.  
"GRINGO!"  
Brass held up a hand and slipped into the hall, he saw three heavily armed men in the doorway and returned to the others.  
"We only want the Judge's sons!"   
Sara snorted and drew a tiredly amused look from Nick.  
"They're gonna come up here." Brass said quietly.  
They cringed as gunfire came up the stairs.  
"I'll talk to them, you four go down the back stairs." Brass ordered.  
"Jim--"  
"Nick, we need to get you and your brother out of here. Russell has a family and Grissom would kill me creatively if anything happened to Sara. Go!"   
"You have a family too," Nick pointed to he and Sara, "remember that."  
Brass nodded giving him a grateful look.  
"I'm coming out." He called and left the room.  
They held their breath hoping the drug thugs wouldn't just shoot him on sight.  
With a sigh of relief at the silence Nick helped his brother off the bed.  
"Russell, take him?"  
The white haired man nodded taking Nick's place in supporting Billy as Nick pulled his gun out from his waist band.  
"The Lugar." Sara noticed.  
"He didn't need it anymore." He replied and motioned for her to take point followed by Russell and Billy, Nick would cover their flanks.  
They heard Jim tell the drug thugs that everyone upstairs was in law enforcement and it would be a really bad idea to shoot any of them.  
"Judge Stokes should have released our boss heffe not held him for trial." They heard one answer.  
"You know that's not how things are done this side of the border." Brass replied.  
"Just send the boys down while we're still being patient." Came the reply.  
Nick and Russell helped Billy into the SUV in the garage as Sara slid behind the wheel with the keys from Nick.  
"We can't leave Brass here." She looked at them.  
"Hadn't planned on it." Russell said, "Be back in a few minutes." he added and disappeared out the side garage door.  
"I'll be back too." Nick said and followed a moment later.  
Sara glanced at Billy nervously then made a quick phone call before checking him again.  
He sat with his eyes closed and she figured he wasn't even aware they were alone.  
Her eyes went to the door, gun at the ready, just in case.  
Russell returned first, "Where's Nick?"  
"Nicky?" Billy blinked his eyes opened.  
"Hey, I'm gonna grab Brass, be ready." Nick said coming back inside.  
"Hey, how good a shot are you?" Russell asked him.  
"275 out of 300 my last eval." Nick shrugged.  
"Take a spindle out with one shot?" Russell asked.  
"We'll see." Nick smirked and headed back into the house.

Brass hoped they were getting the hell away from the house.  
"I'm losing patience!" The lead drug thug called out to him, "You have no where to go! Help is hours away! Make it easy on yourselves heffe and give them to us."  
Brass looked over to see motioning to him.  
"Give me a minute to convince them." Brass called and stepped across the hall to Nick and the men headed downstairs quietly.

"Go get them all." They heard the lead drug thug order as they slipped through the kitchen to the garage door.  
"Buckle up." Sara said and gunned the engine, stepping on the gas she crashed through the doors.  
She sped around the two trucks, theirs and the drug thugs and turned the wheel so that the passenger side of this truck was aligned with the porch.  
Nick had the window down by the time she slammed on the brakes and fired at the spindle as the drug thugs burst outside and opened fire.  
Nick hit the spindle on the third shot, the spindle shattered depressing the firing pin of the automatic weapon of the dead thug Nick took out when they arrived.  
Nick was impressed with Russell's ingenuity, especially when the other drug thugs dove for cover as the gun sprayed bullets into the house.  
Sara sped off as Nick put his window up and turned to the others, "Everybody okay?"  
He was relieved to get nods in return.  
"They'll come after us." Brass turned to look out the back window.  
"Not with three flat tires...on each truck." Nick replied holding up his switch blade.  
"Good job Nicky, with the automatic weapon too."  
"That was all Russell." Nick shook his head.  
Brass gave the CSI supervisor an appraising look.  
"I called Vartaan, he's headed out with a S.W.A.T. team by chopper." She told them.  
"My brother needs a doctor." Nick looked back worriedly, it had been hours since he'd been shot and Nick had very basic medical skills.  
"I'm headed to Doctor Parker's." Sara told him.  
"Thanks Sar. Just hang in their bro." Nick reached back and touched his arm.  
"Don't worry 'bout me little brother." Billy gripped his hand.  
"Guess we both have that Stokes stubborn streak." Nick smiled.  
"You most of all kiddo." Billy teased.  
Russell smiled at their bantering, it reminded him of his own kids.  
She pulled up in front of Doctor Parker's house as the sun was rising.  
"Be right back." She said and jumped out running up to the porch ringng the doorbell several times until the man answered.  
They saw her gesture to them and he nodded, she returned to the truck.  
"He's going to meet us at the clinic." She informed them and drove there.  
Ten minutes later the medic arrived, unlocked the clinic doors and treated Billy with Nick keeping watch.  
"You okay?" Sara touched his arm.  
"Yeah, been a long night." He nodded tiredly.  
"I'm glad you're okay." She said.  
"I was scared Sar. Two guys busted through my backdoor and shot the Federal Agent who got his own shot off killing one of them. All I could think was that I had to take the other guy out before he shot us so I tackled him and Billy wrestled the gun away. When it went off I was so scared Billy had been shot."  
"He wasn't hurt then?" Russell asked having listened quietly with Brass until then.  
"We escaped out the front door where the other Federal Agent was waiting in the truck. Turns out the drug guys had a driver too. He fired at us as we drove away hitting Billy in the shoulder and the Agent in the side. I didn't even know the guy was hit until he slumped over the wheel in the alley on Birchwood. He died for us. All I could do was leave him in the alley and get us to Pioche." He explained.  
"Somebody burned the bodies of the guys at your house and the one who got you out of there." Brass informed him.  
"My guess it that the driver cleaned up, burning them so they couldn't be identified then called in back up and let you find us for them." Nick surmised.  
"Yeah, but we still I.D.'d them." Sara smiled.  
"We are the number two lab in the country." He chuckled.  
"Behind Quantico." They said in unison laughing.  
"God I need some sleep." Nick shook his head when they calmed down.  
"When this is wrapped up you take a few days, spend it with your brother."  
"Thanks Boss."  
"I've removed the bullet and stitched him up, gave him a liter of blood too. He's on strong antibiotics." The doctor told them.  
"Thank you." Nick shook his hand, "I'm gonna go sit with him." He added and went into the room.  
"I'd better let the local LEO's in on what's happened in their town." Brass said and headed for the door.  
"I'll go with him, let the lab know Nick's okay." Russell said and followed him out.  
Sara nodded knowing he was silently giving her permission to remain with her long time friend and keep an eye on him and his brother.  
She looked into the room and found Nick in the chair beside Billy's bed with his eyes closed.  
Settling into a chair in the hall she kept watch.  
*******************************************************************************  
"We called you folks in last time because we hadn't had a homicide in several years." The Sheriff frowned as he drove them back to the McBride house.  
"We're sorry to have brung this to your doorstep Sheriff, we should have been more aware of being followed." Russell apologized.  
"Lou?" Brass answered his phone. "We're coming in from the east. Okay, we'll hold here." Brass replied and hung up, "Pull over just before we get to the house, the S.W.A.T. team just landed and they're going in on foot."  
The Sheriff stopped his patrol car and waited for the all clear call.  
Russell had called the lab to update the rest of the grave team on Nick and they were more than relieved to learn he was alright and expressed their concern for his brother which he promised to pass along when he saw Nick again.  
It was twenty minutes later when Lou got back to them and they rolled up to the house to find two drug thugs handcuffed on the porch with one wearing a bandage on his leg while the other sported one on his arm.  
Brass looked inside the house and saw the third man was dead.  
Poetic justice if you ask me.  
He rejoined Russell and Vartaan to compare notes for their files.  
****************************************************************************  
Sara glanced inside as she stood and smiled to see the Stokes brothers asleep.  
Stretching, she walked over to the coffee pot and lifted it.  
"That's put you in a bed down the hall honey."  
"Uh...okay." Sara placed the pot back down and turned.  
"Doc Parker is a great medic but makes horrible coffee and I'm not much better. Sallies, across the street, is much, much, better."  
"Thanks..."  
"Darla. Part-time secretary, part-time nurse." The middle-aged woman smiled and shrugged.  
"Sara. My friend is in there with his brother, could you tell him where I went if he wakes?"  
"Sure thing honey." Darla nodded.  
Sara smiled and headed for the door when her cell rang.  
"Hi Gil." She smiled and crossed the street seeing two trucks seventy yards from her position giving her time to make it to the other side safely.  
"Sit anywhere." The waitress called so Sara sat at a booth near the door as she spoke to her husband, she ordered coffee and breakfast. "Yeah, Nick's okay, his brother was shot but should be alright too, the local doctor removed the bullet and we'll get him back to Vegas, hopefully in the next few hours." She told him, they talked a bit longer then her breakfast arrived and she said good-bye.  
Sara was just taking her first bite when Darla burst through the doors.  
"They took them!"   
"What?" Sara asked rising.  
"Those guys with their fancy Federal badges just swept right in and took your friend and his brother! Your friend said he'd call when he could." She told Sara.  
"Thanks." Sara put money on the table and hurried out calling Brass.

"They what?!? I'll get back to you." Brass growled and hung up pulling up the number for Judge Stokes chambers, "Captain Jim Brass, LVPD, let me talk to the judge!"  
'Captain Brass, what can I do for you?' Bill Stokes asked pleasantly.  
"The Fed's vanished with your sons!" Brass snapped at him.  
'I'm aware of that Captain.'  
"Did Nick even get a say before they took him away?" Brass growled.  
'My oldest son was injured and I wanted the best care for him Captain. Both of my sons safety is my first concern and they are safe now. When I feel their safety is no longer threatened I'll allow Pancho to call you. Good day Captain.' Bill Stokes said and hung up.  
"Good day my ass!" Brass muttered.  
"What'd he say?" Russell asked gauging it wasn't good.  
"He said when it's safe Nick can call us." Brass frowned.  
"Any bets on how long that'll be?" Vartaan asked, he liked Nick a lot, they'd worked a number of cases together over the years.  
"Nick could be gone for months. I'd better call Conrad, make sure he still has a job when he gets back." Russell said and pulled his phone out.

Greg hung up and sighed deeply before turning to Morgan, Finn, Hodges and Henry.  
"The Fed's took Nick and his brother. Sara has no idea where they are and she said Brass spoke to his dad, that'll he return when it's safe." He told them what he knew.  
"That trial against the drug lord could run months." Finn knew. "We may not hear from or see Nick for a long time."  
"This is crazy! How can they just take him?" Morgan asked.  
"There's nothing we can do." Greg replied, he was just as frustrated, Nick had been his friend and like a big brother to him for a long time now.  
Not seeing him for months was crazy but they had no idea where he was or how to begin finding him so they just had to be patient and wait for him to come back to them.  
******************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************  
"I'll get it." Charlie Russell called back and opened the door. "Dad...it's for you."  
"Thanks Char--Nick?" Russell asked stunned to find the Texan on his door step.  
The only time anyone had heard from him was when he called six weeks ago and left a message on Russell's answering machine.  
It had been three and a half months since he and his brother had been spirited out of Pioche by the Feds.  
"Hey boss." Nick nodded nervously.  
"For heavens sake D.B. invite him in." Barbara Russell gently chided.  
Russell stood back and motioned him inside.  
"Thank you, sorry if I'm interrupting ma'am." Nick apologized.  
"You're just in time for coffee and dessert." Barbara smiled and headed to the kitchen.  
"How are you Nick?" Russell asked taking a seat on the couch and motioning him take take a chair.  
"Thanks." He sat down, "Good. Hoping I still have a job."  
"I talked to Conrad when this all went down. He put you on leave of absence."  
"Thanks Russell." Nick breathed relieved.  
"So tell me about these last few months."  
"I hope you like apple pie. Eat up, it's still warm." Barbara returned with a tray laden with plates and mugs of coffee.  
As Nick ate he silently admitted Mrs. Russell's pie ran a close second to his moms.  
They were almost finished with their dessert when the doorbell rang.  
"I'll get it." Barbara smiled giving her husband a look before crossing the room and opening the door. "He's in here." She said opening it.  
Nick stood startled to see his friends.  
Sara reached him first and hugged him.  
Greg shook his hand grinning.  
Finn and Morgan smiled at him.  
"You forget how to use a phone?" Brass asked walking in with Ecklie.  
"Hope you have a good story." Hodges smirked as he and Henry appeared.  
"Alright everyone, let's not gang up on him." Russell smiled.  
"At least until we've heard the tale." Greg teased.  
Once everyone was seated Nick filled them in.

"It's time to go sir."  
Nick woke to see several men wearing F.B.I. windbreakers.  
"What?" he frowned.  
"Judge Stokes sent us to get the two of you to a safehouse." The lead agent answered.  
"Hold on, my brothers been shot!" Nick rose and glared at the agent unhooking Billy's I.V.  
"We need to move fast." The lead agent said.  
"We're not going anywhere with you until I've spoken to my father!" Nick answered.  
"Fine." The lead agent answered and pulled out his cell phone.  
"I've got it." Nick said and pulled out the phone he took from Agent Morales and punched in the number to his father's chambers.  
'Judge Stokes chambers.'  
"It's Nick."  
'One moment.'  
Nick eyed the agents as he waited.  
'Poncho?'  
"Hey dad. Got some so called Federal agents here trying to hustle Billy and me out."  
'I get to that in a moment son, how's your brother? How bad is his wound?'  
"He's gonna be okay...if we get back to Vegas where he can be in a hospital."  
'Son, the lead agent is named Palmer, six-three, dirty blond hair, green eyes, wears a tigers eye ring on his right middle finger. He's an old friend I asked to get you boys to safety. Go with them son.'  
"Alright, but I need to tell my friends." Nick agreed as a groggy Billy was helped into a wheelchair.  
'I'll talk to you boys real soon. I love you Pancho.'  
"Love you too dad." Nick replied and hung up.  
"Let's move." Agent Palmer ordered.  
"I need to let Sara know--"  
"The sooner we get you out of here the safer you'll be." Agent Palmer replied and hustled them out.  
"Tell Sara I'll call when I can." Nick said to the gaping woman at the desk as he was hurried out.

"Darla." Sara nodded, "She must have run to the diner as soon as you left."  
"Sara called me and I called your dad. He said you'd call when it was safe to do so." Brass looked at him, he had very worried about the man he felt like was a son to him.  
"It took time to round up Dominguez's group, the Feds also took my phone as I slept on the plane." Nick shrugged.  
"How did you call here?" Barbara asked.  
Nick smirked a little.  
"This is going to be a good story." Greg grinned.

"So how'd you split us up?" Nick asked feigning boredom.  
"Not you concern." Agent Palmer replied.  
"I hope for your agents sakes Marianne and Annie aren't together." Nick looked at Billy who nodded.  
"Bad move boys." The older Stokes son added.  
"Those girls fight like two cats in a sack." Nick chuckled.  
"Remember how dad turned the hose on them?" Billy laughed and walked across the room.  
"Yeah! Even mom laughed at them as they stood soaking wet." Nick nodded.  
Billy grabbed the gun off the table and had it aimed at the two Feds before they could move.  
"What are you doing boy?!?" Agent Palmer snapped at him.  
"Just gonna borrow your phne." Nick said and plucked it from the agents hand.  
'Gerry?'  
"It's me dad, Billy and I want to be with Mom and Colleen."  
'Nick--'  
"Dad, we'll pull an eighty-six on you."  
Nick heard his father sigh.  
'Put Gerry on the phone.' Bill instructed and Nick held it out to the agent who angrily took it.  
"Bill, your boys--"  
'Are a handful. I know, believe me I know. Take them to Jill and Colleen.'  
"I don't advise it."  
'I know but Jill keeps calling and the boys can protect them too.'  
"Alright." The agent grydginly agreed.  
'Let me talk to Nick.'  
Gerry handed the phone back with a deep frown.  
"Dad?"  
'Take care of your mother, brother and his family. You have to look after them this time Pancho.'  
"I will. You take care too Sisco."  
'I intend to. Love you boys.'  
"We love you too dad."  
'I hope to see you soon son.'  
"Same here."  
'Give your mother my love.'  
"I will." Nick smiled.  
'I'll talk to you again soon son. Bye.'  
"Bye dad." Nick answered and ended the c all. "One more." He said and put the number in.  
'You've reached the Russell's, leave us a message at the beep.'  
Beep.  
"Hey, it's Nick, I'm alright. I don't know how long things are going to last here or when I can call again. Just wanted you to know I'm still alive, let everyone know okay? Thanks." Nick ended the call and gave the phone back.  
"How'd you get the gun so fast?" The second agent asked as Billy gave it back to him and Nick began to pack.  
"Rattle snakes." Billy smiled at Nick who chuckled and nodded and finished packing their bags.

"What's an eighty-six?" Ecklie asked not recognizing the designation.  
"I was fifteen in '86. My buddies and I took the Plymouth up to a far part of the ranch. Got away with it too...until four days later when my dad called me outside and pointed out the damage to the undercarriage where I drove over some hidden rocks. I was grounded for two weeks in which my dad and Billy taught me about cars and how to repair them and my dad took me driving so I could get my learners permit. We repaired the Plymouth and I drove it until I went to college."  
"Got your friends into the drive-in for free by stowing them in the trunk." Sara elbowed him.  
"Rick told you?" Nick chuckled and she nodded.  
"Wait...is that the car we..." Hodges pointed to himself, Henry and Greg.  
"Yeah, I've been trying to repair her in my spare time." Nick nodded.  
"The Harry's Hog Heaven adventure?" Sara asked.  
"It was a great birthday...considering." Henry grinned.  
"You guys have been holding out, spill." Finn ordered.  
They regaled them with their misadventure road trip for 'the best barbecue ribs'.  
"When we were waiting on the police to arrive Slick pointed at Shirley blaming her." Nick shook his head wiping away tears of laughter.  
Even Ecklie had been amused by the tale, though he never wanted to know of any other misadventures by any of them.  
Nick grew serious and cleared his throat.  
"I owe you al an apology. They rounded up the Dominguez crew two weeks ago but my dad ordered us all to the lake house, no one had a phone, computer or any other electronic communications on them and you don't really say no to my dad...it was nice though, all of us together, swimming, boating, fishing. When I was three I learned to swim in that lake. I had plenty of siblings to keep an eye on me." Nick smiled.  
"How many do you have?" Barbara asked.  
"I'm the last of seven, there's a little over two years between the others. I was a surprise five years after my sister Jeannie, who was the youngest until I came along. My mom says I'm always surprising her."  
"I think I'd like your mother." Barbara smiled.  
"I'm sure she'd like you too ma'am." He nodded back.  
"Alright, we all, well, you'll return to shift tomorrow night Nick, have to work later so I'll see you there." Ecklie said and left.  
Hodges and Henry were next followed by Brass.  
"Glad you're alright kid." Brass squeezed his shoulder and departed.  
"Welcome back." Finn smiled and went too.  
"I'll see you guys in a few hours." Morgan said to the others, "See you tomorrow Nick."  
"Yep." He smiled as she left.  
"I have to go too." Greg fist bumped him and headed for the door.  
"Later G." Nick replied.  
"Walk me out?" Sara asked and Nick nodded. "See you in a few hours Russell. Thank you for calling Mrs. Russell."  
"I knew you'd all want to see him." Barbara smiled as they headed outside.

Russell watched from the door as Sara and Nick spoke for several minutes then she hugged him and drove away. He walked over to the senior CSI.  
"We're all glad you're back." He said.  
Nick pulled his keys from his pocket as he turned to his boss.  
"Me too." He smiled, "See you tomorrow night."  
"Yeah, you will." Russell nodded with his own smile.

Nick drove away silently thanking Russell and Ecklie for his having a job still.  
He also silently thanked his father for making sure is bills were paid up while he was under safeguard.  
As much as he hated being protected he relished the time he'd spent with his mother. Their long talks into the night, about the past...and future. Her fears of losing him still there after eight years (for which he cursed Walter Gordon's name), her worries of him finding love and having children, of being happy as he gets older.  
Nick had shared his own fears with her. That he wasn't sure Russell would keep him on the team after that first case. Dealing with McKeen again...reliving Warrick's death. Finding out Sam Vega was dirty...examining his own actions in the original Carl Bowden case.  
They'd never been so honest with each other.  
With a smile he reached home and unlocked the door...and stood there stunned.  
He had half expected to see it the way he'd left it in the battle with the drug thugs but clearly his friends had taken it upon themselves to clean the blood from the rugs and repair the damaged furniture and where the bullets had hit the floor and walls.  
It's still my home, he smiled relieved and closed the door.

the end 2013


End file.
